Apparatus for liquid treating and conveying work



Feb. 26, 1963 J. v. DAvls ETAL. 3,078,859

APPARATUS Foa LIQUID TREATING AND CONVEYING woRK 8 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed March 50, 1959 3,078,859 APPARATUS FOR LIQUID TREATING AND CONVEYING WORK Original Filed March 50, 1959 J. V. DAVIS ETAL Feb. 26, 1963 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 Feb. 26, 1963 J. v. DAvls ETAL 3,078,859

APPARATUS FOR LIQUID TREATING AND CONVEYING WORK Original Filed March 30, 1959 8 Sheeis-Sheet 3 Feb. 26, 1963 J. v. DAvls ETAL.

APPARATUS FOR LIQUID TREATING AND CONVEYING WORK 8 Sheeis-Sheet 4 Original Filed March 50, 1959 @Q -Ill Feb. 26, 1963 J. v. DAvls E'rAl. 3,078,859

APPARATUS FOR LIQUID TREATING AND CONVEYING WORK Original Filed March 30, 1959 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 m INVENTORS. J' 7? 1./ Uff/z3' i afm/L96.

Feb. 26, 1963 J. v. nAvls ETAL 3,078,859

APPARATUS FOR LIQUID TREATING AND CONVEYING WORK Original Filed March 30, 1959 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 /74 if; if; /74

J. V. DAVIS ETAL Febf 2e, 1963 APPARATUS FOR LIQUID TREATING AND CONVEYING WORK 8 Sheets-Sheet 7 Original Filed March 30, 1959 Feb. 26, 1963 J. v. DAvls ETAL APPARATUS FOR LIQUID TREAIING AND CONVEYING WORK 8 Sheets-Sheet 8 Original Filed March 50, 1959 z claims. (ci. 134-66)LV 'I'his application is a division .of application SerialNo. 802,797, led'March 30, 1959.

This invention relates to Work handling apparatus for moving workpieces throughv agpredetermined cycle in a meta-1 treating process.

Apparatus for liquid treating and vconveying work of the typte to which VthisA invention relates, namely, the straight vline type illustrated in United States Patent No. 2,484,079, areV used for plating, anodizing, phosphating andthe like Vprocesses -for moving Workpieces into and out of the `different treatment'tanks used in the processes. Since these machines are extremely large and expensive, the ultimate objective inall machines isv to make the machine las flexible as possible sogthat it can'be used in as many different'processes and K4operations as possible. In such a machine, the objective is to make the cycle for each rworkpiece carrier variable `and determinable by some selecting structure on the carrier so that when the carrier is introduced into the machine, the treatment cycle for Workpieces on that carrier is determined.

The principal object oi this invention, therefore, is to provide a flexible vapparatus for liquid treating 4and conveying vwork of the above type.

A further object of this invention is to provide a Work carrier' in amachine of the above type which is readily adapted to diterent treatmentcycles.

A further object of this invention is to provide a machiney of the above type with improved mechanism for advancing Work carriers through the machine.

Another object of this invention is to provide a machine of the above type which is simple in construction, economical to'rnanufacture, and efficient inoperation in moving work carriers through'predetermined Work cycles.v

Further objects, features and advantages of this invention will become apparent from 'a considera-tion of the following description, the appended claims and the accompanying drawing in which:

FIGURE l is a diagrammatic plan view of the machine of this invention, illustrated asconsisting of two side by side units designated as unit I and II;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view looking along the line 2--2 in FIG. l;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are enlarged fragmentary top plan views of portions ofthe machine shown in FIG. l;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view looking along-the line 5 5 in FIG. l;

FIG. 6 is a-fragmentary side elevational .view of a portion of unit I with the vertically movable chassis removed;

FIG. 7 is a front elevational View of a work carrier in the machine of this invention;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the carrier shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary plan view of one end of the machine of this invention showing the shuttle mechanism for transferring work carriers from one unit to the other;

FIG. 10 isan end view of the shuttle mechanism looking along the line iti-10 in FIG. 9.

FIG.- l1 is an `enlarged transverse sectional View looking along the line 11-11 in FIG. 9;

FIGS. l2 and 13 are diagrammatic views illustrating the manner in which al carrier is moved in the machine of this invention.

With reference to the drawings, the work handling 3,078,859 Patented Feb. Z6, 1963 machine of this invention, indicated generally at l0, is illustrated diagrammatically in FIG. l as including straightline units I and II arranged side by side and provided at their ends with shuttle4 mechanisms 12 for trans,- ferring `work carriers from .one unit. to the other. As shown in FIG.,5,' the units are of considerable height and are spaced vapart suiiiciently to provide' for the location of awalkWay'Il therebetween to facilitate access to the units. Each' unit includes a plurality of treatment tanks arranged in a straight line row for applying different solutions to Workpieces which are moved in one direction through each unit and dipped in some or all of the tanks in that unit.'

Itisto be understood that the `machine lil is usable in various treatment operations such as anodizing, plating,

phosphatingand the like. Since all of these processes use both singlejand multiple station Itanks and involve the selective travel 'of carrier-supported workpieces through different tanks and :different stations in a single tank, the machine of this invention is not described in detail herein with respect to any particular process. The term station is used hereinto described a location in the tank at which work on a carrier is treated. The stations for any one tanky are designated iirstj second, etc. in the `direction of advancement of the yWork carriers.

The machine ltlis illustrated as being provided with a load and unloadstation 14 at the left end of unit II. As will clearly vappear hereinafter, in machine 10 work carriers move from right to lefty as viewed in FIG. 1, on unit II and from left to right on unit I. From the load stationV 14, a work carrier is transferred,by means of one of theV shuttle mechanisms l2, to the left end of unit I which has single station tanks indicated by the numeral 18 and multiple `station -tanks 22. Inunit II the single station tanks are indicated .at 2S and the multiple station tanks at 3).-

The workpieces are suspended from carriers 42. (FIGS. 7 and 8) during their travel through the machine 10 and into and out of the various tanks. In each unit, the carriers 42 are supported on a pair of lower track members during the time that workpieces carried by the carriers are immersedin the tanks and they are supported on a pair of upper track members, Parts of which are carried :on vertically movable chassis and parts of which are stationary, duringthe time the Workpieces are being transferred from one tank to another, as will clearly appear l rereinafter.

Unit I consists of an elongated main frame 44 (FIGS. 5 and 6) which includes upright standards 46 longitudinally extending frame members 43 and cross bars `45. A chassis (FIG. 5), which consists of side frames 48a which extend longitudinally of the frame 44 on opposite sides of the tanks 18 and 22, is slidably supported for up and down movement on the frame 44. A lift cylinder 458 at the top of frame 44 is connected by pairs of chains 458e to longitudinally spaced parts of the chasis 48 lfor raising the chassis. A pairof stationary bus bars 50 (FIG. 5) are mounted on and extend longitudinally of the frame 44 at a position between the upper and vlower sides of the frame 44 and between the frame members 46. The -bus bars Sil `are spaced apart in a direction transversely of frame 44 a distancesuch that they are capable of kfunctioning as lower tracks ori-which the work carriers i2 are slidably supported lduring the timethat the workpieces .on the carriers are suspended in the tanks 18 and 22 for unitI.

A pair of upper track members 52 (FIG. 5)y in unit I aremounted adjacent the top side of the frame 44`and are spaced furtherapart than the busy bars 50. Each upper track member 5-2 consists of a plurality of short sections 56-(FIG. 3) arranged in pairs, with the sections 56 in each pair being separated by a space 54 which is of a uniform length for all pairs in the illustrated embodiment of the invention. The spaces 54, and the spaces 55 which separate adjacent pairs of sections 56, correspond to and are in vertical alignment with spaced track sections 57 and 57a, respectively, on the chassis 4S. The space 55 between each pair of sections 56 for a given tank 22 is the same. However, the space 55 between the end section 56 above one tank and the adjacent end section for the next tank may be larger. When the chassis is in its up position the track sections S6, 57 and 57a are in horizontal alignment so that the track sections 57 and 57a substantially lill the spaces or gaps 54 and 55 to provide for continuous upper track members. As will more clearly appear hereinafter, the chassis 48 moves up and down between the upper position in which the track sections 56, 57 and 57a are aligned and a lower position in which the track sections 57 and 57a are below the bus bars 5t) as shown in FIG. 5. In this latter case, when a carrier is supported on the track sections 57 or 57a, during downward movement of the chassis 43 the carrier is transferred to a supported position on the bus bars or tracks 5i) when the sections 57 or 57a move downwardly past the level ot the tracks :'ii.

In the upper position of the chassis, the work carriers on both the upper and lower tracks may be indexed because both tracks are continuous. However, while the chassis is in its lower position, only the work carriers on the lower tracks 50 can be advanced because the upper track 52 has gaps 53 and 54 through which a carrier could fall. lt is to be understood that whether or not the lower carriers in a unit are indexed when the chassis for that unit is in its up position relates to the manner of operation of the machine and it can be operated either way depending on its intended specic use. The operation in which the lower carriers are indexed in both chassis positions is described hereinafter and is shown diagrammatically in FIG. 13

The work carriers 42, are designed so that each is movable through the upper track gaps 54 and each includes mechanism which can be set to determine the cycle for that carrier. As a result, the carrier structure contributes to the ilexibility of the machine 10. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a work carrier 42 includes an elongated beam 69 provided with angle-shape end supports 62 each of which has a horizontal substantially U-shaped `portion 64 formed with spaced iingers 66. The space Vside of the beam 6G at a position substantially midway between the ends thereof. The member 63 has three openings 76 for supporting an upright actuating rod 72 at any one of three positions spaced longitudinally of the beam 6G. When a carrier 42 is mounted on unit l the rod 72 is located at one of three positions which are spaced apart in a direction transversely o unit I for a purpose to appear presently.

It is seen, therefore, that the pairs of lingers 66, which provide the carrier 42 with transverse stability when it is supported, are correlated with the track sections 56 which are likewise arranged in pairs. However, it is also considered within the scope of this invention to provide a single finger 66 at each end of each carrier and provide correlated single track sections 56 in the upper stationary tracks 52. lt is also within the purview of this invention to provide for a pick-up of the carriers 42 at their centers by the chassis 48 instead of at their ends.

Likewise for a purpose to appear later, the beam di) is provided adjacent its ends with upright pusher plates 72a, each of which carries a pair of reinforcing bars 74 that extend in opposite directions from a central portion of the plate 72a. The bars 74 are mounted on a pair of spaced slide plates 71 which extend longitudinally of the beam 60. ri`he slide plates 71, which are connected by the bars '74 and upright plates 73 at the ends of the plates 72a, are slidably mounted on frame members 75 secured to the top side oi the beam 69. Bolts 77 carried by the frame members 75 extend through slots 79 in the plates '7l for clamping the plates to the beam 69 in all moved positions of the plates. A smaller abutment plate '7d is secured to the terminal end of each of the reinforcing bars 74 and is positioned in a vertical piane parallel to the pusher plates 72a for engagement by pushers advancing the carrier 42.

At their ends, the slide plates 71 carry downwardly extending legs 81 which are engaged by pushers to advance the carrier on the lower track 50.

For advancing the carriers 42 on the lower track members 50, a lower pusher assembly (FlGS. 5 and 6) is provided. The assembly 80 includes a pair of pusher rods 82, each of which is illustrated as being of angle- `shape in cross section, slidably supported on the frame 44 at positions below the level of the track members 59. Each pusher rod 82 carries a rack 83 which meshes with a gear 84a mounted on the frame 44. The gears 84a are connected by an equalizer bar S6 which extends transversely of the frame 44 and provides for concurrent reciprocation of the pusher rods 82 when a pair of hydraulic cylinder assemblies 34, which are pivotally mounted on frame 44 and correspond to the pusher rods 82, are actuated. Each pusher rod 82 is connected to a parallel bar 9d positioned above and connected to the rod by parallel links 8S. A plurality of upwardly extending pusher dogs 83 are secured to the upper bar 90 in a predetermined spaced relation. Each upper bar 90 can thus be swung between a lower position (shown in solid lines in FIG. 6) and an upwardly moved position (shown in dotted lines in FIG. 6) Iin which a stop 89 at one end of the bar 9d engages one end of the corresponding rod 82.

Each hydraulic cylinder assembly 84 has its piston rod 87 pivotally connected to the lower end of a lever 91 which has an upper end portion 93 that is parallel to the links 85 and is pivotally connected to and extends between the corresponding rod 32 and bar 90. As a result, on extension of the piston rods 87 for the two assemblies 34, which are operated in unison, the levers 91 tirst pivot about their connections to the rods 82 so that the bars 90 are swung upwardly and to the left as shown in FIG. 6 until the stops S9 engage the ends of the rods SZ. On continued extension of the piston rods 87, the rods 82, bars 99 and dogs 88 are moved toward the right.

The dogs 88 have their upper ends located below the depending carrier legs 81 in the lower positions of the bars 99. When the cylinder assemblies 84 are actuated to move the pusher rods 82 toward the right as viewed in FIG. 6, all of the dogs 38 swing upwardly to positions engageable with a carrier leg 8l, for advancing the carriers 42 toward the right as viewed in FIG. 6.

The pusher dog 88 is shown as having appreciable width and being formed with a notch 93 which is located so that it is horizontally aligned with the leg 81 on the carrier 42.

The plates 71 on the carrier 42 are movable to positions in which the depending legs 81 thereon are either in or out of alignment with the notches 93 in a pair of transversely aligned dogs 88, as desired. The notches 93 in each such pair of dogs 88 are spaced apart a distance equal to the spacing of the legs 81 on the carriers 42. In the embodiment shown, this spacing is constant. On retraction of the piston rods 87, to move the pusher rods 32 to the left, the upper bars 90 fall downwardly under the action of gravity to return the dogs 88 to positions below the work carrier legs 8,1.

As a result, on retraction of the piston rods 87, the

dogs. 88 are movable to positions behind the work carrier legs $1 so that: on the `forward stroke, all -the work carriers 42 are'advanced a distance equal to the. length of the stroke of the cylinder assembly S4 minuscthe lost motion distance which each d-og 88 is spaced behind the Work carrier '42: to lbe advanced thereby;r This distance is variable', depending Aon the location ofY the pusher' dogs S8 on ythe pusher bars 90 and can be adjusted-by relocating the dogs 88.

In a multi-stationtank23, Ithe station atwhich the work on `a particularv carrier is withdrawnis determined by the location of the "legs 811 on the carrier. This is 'accomplished by locatingthe pusher clogs` 88 in, pairson each bar 9'0, with the distance betweeneach pair corresponding substantially-to the length `of thetrack space 54. 'I'lie arrangement of the dogs-'88 is .of course identical on both bars 90.1 The forward dog in each pair has a notch 93 while the rear dog` 'does' not. As a result, Ya cai-nier 42 uwithlegs '81.locate`dv in alignment with the notches 93`inthe .forward vdogs 8S is advanced by the rear dogsSS to a position in which itis invertical alignment with 'the lower rail lsections 57 'and .57a and the ngers 6.6 straddle a pair of spaces correspond-ing to a'pair of upper track sections 56./ A carrier which hasy its legs 31 out of alignment with .the notches 93 in thef-o-rward dogs 818 'is engaged by Vthose dogs and moved a distance sufficient to posit-ion the carrier .fingers 66'in vertical alignment with the spaces between the rail sections 57 corresponding to the xed railrsections 57 Yand.57z. As

aresult, the 'rst mentioned carrier -is `withd-rawn `trom the tank and the last mentioned remains in the tank for subsequent advancement' .to a position where it is :withdrawn. Y

For advancing the work carriers 42 on the upper track members 52, a pair of T-shape pusher bars 94 (FIG. 6`) are slidably supported for reciprocalfmovement on the frame 44 at positions above the trackrmembers 52 and each pusher' bar 94 is provided with two types of pivotally mounted pusher dog units which depend therefrom and the anrangement'of the dog units on the bars 94 is identical so that when la carrier is advanced it is always engaged Asimultaneously at both its ends by a pair Aof pusher dogs. A rst type consists of a single pusher dog 9'6 pivotally supported on the barv 94 for up and down swinging movement between a substantially horizontal position adjacent the vunderside of the bar'94 and a downwardly and forwardly inclined position as shown in FIG. 6. The term forwardly has reference to the direction of movenientv of carriers 42 on unit I.. Asecond type of unit, consists of apair-ot dogs, a first short dog 106 and a second longer dog 102 which carries a transversely' eX- tending rod 194 adjacent its' lower end and `is positioned ahead of `the shorter dog. Each of the dogs 96, 1d@ and 102 has its upper end mounted on a horizontal pivot 101 (FIGS. 2 and 7) carried by plates 103- suspended from the supporting pusher bar 94 therefor and` is movable up and down about the pivot '1 between' an upper substantially horizontal position and a lowerinclined position in which the upper end of the dog strikes a plate H15 secured to the bott-om sideA ofv the pusherbartoilim-it downward swinging of the dog. Each ofthe pusher bars 94 carries a rack 107 which' meshes with a gear 109 mounted on the frame 44. The gears 109' are connected by `a transverse equalizer bar 108 so Vthat the pusher bars -94 reciprocate concurrently on' actuation of a hydraulic cylinder assembly 106 having itspistoni'odconnected to one of the pusher bars and having its cylinder mounted on the frame 44.

Each pusher bar 94 -is supported in spaced slideunits 111 (FIG. 2) `mounted on the frame 44. A unit 111 includes pairs of rollers v113-which sup'portslide plates 115' secured to lthe top side of the bars 94. Guide straps 117 on the unitslll'overli'e the slide plates 115 for maintaining them on' the rollers 113.

The double dog units are located in unit I'at positions 6. above the multiple station tanks 22 and operate as part of station selector mechanisms, indicatedgenerallyby the numeral 112 in FIGS. -3 and 6, to determine for each carrier 42 the tank station at which the workpiece on that carrier will enter the tank. The mechanisms 112 are also usable in the same manner with successive single station tanks todeterminewhich of the tanks will be entered by the workpieces on` each carrier. Each mecha'- nism 112 includes a series of -four gate assemblies 114, 116, 113 and 120 which correspond to four of the double pusher dog funits in the main irai-rie 44'for `unit I. Intermediate its ends, the lever 122 supports a pair of upwardly projected links 125 which are pivotally con.- nected at their upper ends to the lower end of an inclined operating arm 126 (FIG. 6) .whichy is secured at its opposite end to a shaft 128 (FIG. 2) which extends transversely of the main frame 44. The shaft 128 is rigidly connected at its ends to upright supporting .bars 130 for a pair of transversely spaced movable gate mem.- -bers 132 each ofwhich is arranged for movement betweena rst horizontal position located between and in line with a pair of stationary gate members 134 and 136 and a second forwardly moved inclined position in which a space separates the member 132 fromithe member 134. The stationary gate member 136-carries la downwardly and forwardly extending ramp 140 at its forwardV end, which is :spaced behind the stationary gate member 134 in the gate assembly 11.6.- The gate members 132, 124 and 136 support the rod 104 on the corresponding ,dog 102 ina manner to be described presently. rIhe levers 122 for the gate assemblies for any one tankf22 are Aaligned in a direction longitudinally of lunit I and the levers 122 for different tanks are spaced transversely of runit I for a purpose tol appear presently.

In the operation of a station selector mechanism .112 assume that the stations for one of the tanks 22 are designated 1,v 2, 3, 4 vand 5 in the order theyare passed over 'by a carrier on unit I. Asa work carrier 42 approaches a tank, the actuating rod 72' carriedfthereby may either be in line with the operating levers 122 for the gate assemblies 114, 116, 118 and 12) for that tank or it may be to one side of the levers 122y depending on the socket 70 in which the 'rod .72 is mounted and the position of the slide plates 71.

In the event it is to one side of the levers 122, none 'of the levers 122 'will be operated'during travel of that carrier 42 over lthe tank. As a consequencepduring forward movement of each of the dog units the longer dog 122 will be held in its upper position by the travel of the rod 11M-'therefor on the gate'members 132, 134 and 136 until after the shorter dog 1410v has engaged the carrier 42. Consequently, the carrier is moved a distance corresponding to the stroke of the pusher bar 94 minus the `distance the shorter dog 100 is spaced behind the carrier `42 prior to advance of the pusher bars 94.

This dist-ance is correlated with the position of the dogs 10d-so that the carrier 42 is `located at a position in which the fingers 66 at opposite ends thereof are supported on pairs of xed track sections 56 so thatthe carrierl 42d-oes not descend with the chassis 4S; During retraction of the pusher bars 94, the rods 104 travel upwardly on the ramps 140 to positions supported on the gate assemblies so that the longer dogs 192 are again lifted 'to their liorizontalupper positions.

In the event the actuating rod 72 on the carrier42 is in line with the levers 122, the height of the rod 72 determinesat'which station the .workpiece on the carrier 42 enters the tank. In the eventthe actuating rod 72 extends above the carrier 42 a vdistance greater than the distance the actuating lever 122 for the first cell is spaced above the carrier 42, the actuating rod 72eng-ages thelower end of the actuating lever 122 and 'swings it upwardly. Upward swinging movement of the lever 122 causes rotation of thecorresponding shaft 128 with a resultant upward swinging movement of the movable gate members 132 carried thereby. The lever 122 is positioned relative to the dogs 96 and 111i) so that each carrier 42 which is to enter the tank at the station, which corresponds to this particular lever 22, stops in a lever actuating position shown in FIG. 9 when the forward movement of the pusher bars 94 is terminated. Consequently, on retraction of the pusher bars 94, the rods 164 for the pair of pusher `.mits drop through the spaces between the gate members 132 and 136 so that the longer pusher dogs 102 are in position to engage and advance the carrier 42 when the pusher bars Q4 are next advanced.

Because the longer dogs 192 are ahead of the shorter dogs 163, the carrier 42 is advanced an increased distance, relative to the carrier which is advanced by the short dogs 1421i, by an amount equal `to the distance between the lower ends of the dogs 106 and 162 in each unit. 'Iltis distance is correlated with the location of the stationary upper rail sections 56 and the location of the dogs 100' and 162 in each unit so that this advance is sufiicient to locate the carrier l2 on the rail sections 5?' and 57a on the chassis 48 in a position in which each pair of carrier lingers 66 straddle a fixed rail section 56. Consequently, when the chassis 4S descends, the carrier 42 moves downwardly with it so that the workpiece thereon is immersed in the liquid in the tank at the first station.

When the carrier 42 has been moved out of a position directly below the actuating lever 122 for the first station, the gate member 132 is returned to its position by the action of gravity. Consequently, on retraction of the pusher rods 94, the rod 104 for the pusher unit travels upwardly onthe ramp 140 therefor to a supported position on the gate assembly so that the longer pusher dog 102 is held in an upper horizontal position awaiting the next advance of the pusher rods 94, unless another carrier 42 has been moved to a position actuating the lever 122 corresponding to the pusher unit.

It can thus be seen that in the mechanism 112, the longer dogs 102, which are operable on engagement with a carrier 42 to move it to a position in which the lingers -66 therefor are supported on the chassis rail sections 57 and 57a, are normally disenabled, i.e., held up out of engagement with a carrier when the pusher bars 94 are advanced, and are only lowered to operative positions by movement of a carrier 42 to a lever actuating position.

It is seen, therefore, that as regards unit I, the location of the actuating rod or rods 72 on a carrier determines the tank or tanks which will be entered by the workpiece on that carrier. Consequently, since each carrier 42 is illustrated as having three sockets 79, it can ybe set when it is introduced to the machine so that it will enter any number between zero and three of the tanks 22. However, it is to be understood that any number of sockets can be used to accommodate the carrier to the number of tank selections required in a particular process. The length of each rod 72 determines which station of the tank will be entered by a workpiece on a carrier 42. The location of the legs 81 on each carrier determines at which station in each tank entered by the workpiece on that carrier the workpiece will be lifted out ofthe tank.

It is apparent, however, that a carrier 42 cannot be lifted so as to remove the work thereon from a tank 22 equipped with a selector mechanism 112 prior to move ment of the carrier to a position past the gate assembly 120, namely, to a position at the fth station in the tank 22. If the carrier is lifted prior to this time, the rod 72 hereon will jam into the frame member 124 for the next gate assembly. A tank 22 may, however, have more than ve stations in which case the legs 81 can be utilized to determine the tank station at which the work will be removed. Also, the number of gate assemblies may be reduced in a mechanism 112 to make the time of removal of work from the tank more flexible. iIn an CII anodizing or plating tank the cell selector mechanism 1.12 may be omitted so that all work to be treated in the tank enters at the rst station, and the legs 81 are utilized to determine the station at which the work will be removed.

It is seen, therefore, that the carriers 42 are readily adjusted and unit I readily adapted to provide the desired carrier travel for obtaining a given travel path for work on a carrier through the tanks 18 and 22. By adjusting the variable components in the carrier in unit I, work on a carrier can be immersed in the desired tanks for the desired times with the desired degree of exposure of the work to the atmosphere between tanks.

Unit Ii (FIG. 5) includes a main frame 150 like the main frame 4, having upright standards 152 on which a chassis 154, like the chassis 43 previously described, is slidably supported for up and down movement. A lift cylinder 460 at the top of frame 156 is connected by pairs of chains 46611 to the chassis 154 for raising the chassis. A pair of transversely spaced bus bars 156 extend longitudinally of the frame 150 and function as lower tracks on which the work carriers 42 are slidably supported during the time that workpieces on the carrier are suspended in the tanks for the unit Il.

A pair of upper track members 15S in unit II are spaced above the bus bars 156 a distance corresponding approximately to the depth of the tanks in unit II so that when a work carrier 42 is supported on the upper track :members 153, the workpiece which is suspended therefrom is above any work carriers on the lower tracks 156. Bach upper track member 158 consists of a plurality of short sections 162 arranged in pairs, with the sections 162 in each pair -being separated by a space 16() which -is uniform for all pairs. The spaces 160, and the spaces 161 which separate adjacent pairs of sections 162 (FIG. 4), correspond to and are positioned in vertical alignment with spaced track sections 163 and 165, respectively, on the chassis 154. Consequently, when the .chassis 154 is moved to its upper position, the track sections 163 and 165 substantially ll the spaces 160 and 161, respectively, so that the upper track members 158 are substantially continuous. As a result, when the chassis 154 is in its upper position, a work carrier 42 is readily slidable longitudinally along the upper track members 158. In a lower position of the chassis 154, the track sections 163 and 165 are below the fingers 66 on the carriers 42 which are supported on the lower track members 156. A pusher or carrier indexing assembly 166, .identical to the pusher assembly 80 on unit I, is provided for advancing the carriers 42 on the lower track members 156.

For advancing the work carriers 42 on the upper track members 15S, a pair of T-shape pusher bars 171) (FIG. 5) are slidably supported on slide units 111 carried by the frame 15) at positions above the track members 158.

Since the shuttle mechanisms 12 at opposite ends of units I and II are substantially identical, only one mechanism 12 will be described in detail. One significant advantage of the shuttle mechanisms 12 is that they take up a minimum of space while providing for the necessary transfer of carriers 42 between units I and Il. Furthermore, this transfer is accomplished concurrently with up and down chassis movement, thereby affording the greatest time saving.

Each mechanism 12 includes a cart 200 (FIGS. 9, l0 and l1) mounted for travel on a pair of horizontal rails 2112 and 204- carried on an upright framework 286 which extends transversely of units I and II at one end thereof. The rail member 262 is mounted on the frame 206 adjacent the top side thereof and the rail 204 is below and to one side of the rail 202.

The cart 200 consists of a main frame 268 (PIG. 10) provided with pairs of upper rollers 21@ which ride on the rail 262 and a pair of lower rollers 212 which ride on the rail 204. A pair of rollers 214 are mounted on the frame 268 at a position adjacent the rollers 212 y will be apparent from the de-scription of one.

9 and travel in a track 216 located adjacent-the rail 204 for stabilizing ythe cart 208 against transverse swinging movement during travel thereof longitudinally of the framework 20,6.

The cartframe G carries apair of cantilever-supported track members 218 which are spaced vsuch ltha-t they can be positioned in vhorizontal lalignment with either the upper track membersv 52 on unit I or the upper track members 158 on unit'II.

Adjacent yone end vof the framework 206 is a subfrarne 220 which supports a hydraulic motor 222 that drives a sprocket 224 'mounted on one vend of a shaft 226 on lthe sub-frame 220. The opposite end vof the shaft 226 supports a sprocket 228 positioned in the vertical plane of -a second sprocket 230'su'pported on the frame- Work 2% adjacent the opposite end thereof.V A chain 232 trained about thev sprockets 228 and 230 -is connected at 234 to the car 200. Consequently, on operation of the motor 222 to drive the chain 232 in a clockwise d-irection as viewed in FIG.`9,the cart 26@ is moved froma position opposite the end of unit l to a position opposite the end vof unit II. Rotation of the 'sprocket 232 in an opposite direction moves the cart 200 in an opposite direction to return it to its position opposite' unit I.

The motor 222 is controlled so that it'operates auto-` matically in a timed relation with the up and down movement of the chassis 48 and 154 which move in opposite directions. When the chassis 48 is in its up position, the chassis 154 is in its down position and vice versa. When the chassis 48 is moving upwardly, the chassis 154 is moving downwardly at the same rate of speed and vice versa, there being a predetermined time delay period between the time a chassis reaches one position `and the time it beginsv its return movement to its other position. During this time delay period, the carriers are indexed. The hydraulic motor 222 for the cart 298 operates with the same time delay periods as thechassis and moves 'between its two positions concurrently with movement of the chassis 48 and 154.

Consequently, when a chassis 48 or 154 is in its up position, the carts 208 for the mechanisms 12 are positioned so that the track sections 218 on the carts are in horizontal lalignment with the tracks 52 or 158 on the chassis 48 or 154, respectively, depending on which one is in its up position. During actuation of the upper transfer mechanism for the un-it which has its chassis in its up position, a first carrier 42 is moved 01T one set of track sections 218 onto one end of the chassis and a second carrier 42 at the opposite end of the chassis is moved off the chassis onto the other pair of track members 218.

'For the purpose of illustrating the operation of the work-handling machine 1G of this invention, the operation of each unit for advancinga workpiece through one multiple-station tank is explained in detail hereinafter. The operation for the other multiple-station tanks A carrier 42 isv loaded onto the machineat station 14 from which it is transferred to the shuttle mechanism 12 when the chassis 154 is in its up positiony and then to the upper tracks 52 for unit I, when the chassis 48 is in its up position.` AThe carrier 42 is then at a position above the iirst single station tank 18. When the chassis 48 descends, the carrier 42 is lowered onto the lower track members Si) and the workpieceon the carrier 42 is dipped in the solution in the tank 18. Dur-ing operation of the lower transfer mechanism 89, the carrier 42 `remains in a stationary position on the lower track members 50 since no pus-her dogs are provided on the pusher assembly 80 at the single station tanks.

On a subsequent upward movement of the chassis 48, the carrier 42 is moved upwardly, In an up position of the chassis 48, the carrier 42 is advanced by the upper transfer mechanism across the wall lbetween the rst and second tanks 18 so that when the chassis 48 next movesH Idowmvardlyv the carrier- 42`mves`downwardly toV di'p the workpiece thereon inthe Vsolution inthe second tank "18.1 The carrier is then'` moved so' that" this procedure is repeated andthe workpiecesthereon are dipped isuece'ssively in'I all' of the tanks -18. In the event-a single station tank 18 is` to be`"`equip'p'ed so that an advancing carrier 'can select'fto'be immersed or skip Isuch tank,y the chassis-rail is provided -with gaps and permanent track sections and selector vapparatus is provided such as= is hereinafter described in* connection with'fmulti-station tanks.

In the illustrated m-ach'ine,fthe` carrie-r track sections 57v are continuous' above the tanks 18 so 'that no workpi'eoes are held out'of anyftank.

Whena carrier 42 'reaches amulti-station' tank. 22, it may 'or may not be lowered to aposition in which the work thereon is dipped in the' solution in the tank.' This depends onwhether or notthe' carrier'stem 72 isalign'ed with the actuating levers `122 for the cell selecting fmechanisnr for the' tankv 22, aspreviously described; If" ythe work on the carrier 421 isto'be dipped in tank 22, the stem 72 4on 'the carrier 42 is initially aligned with the levers-122 above the tank and the'leng'th lof 'the stem 72 ischosen so'th'at-the w'orkwilh enter the' tank at' the desired station.`

The carrier 42 'is equipped with an actuating'rod v72 that-is positioned such that-itactuates the rst le'v'eic 122 in the selector mechanism 112. Consequently, thel carrier42 moves downwardly-with the' chassis 48 at a position above the' first' stat-ion'in Vt-he tank 22. The ycarri'e'r42 is -rnoved longitudinally-ofthe tank 22 While itis slidably supported on the' lower track members -50 sothat the workpieces onthe carrier' rer-nain in the tank 22 during the'tirne the carriers are being'advancedlon'gitudinally of the tank. This is accomplished by locating the lower pusher? dogs 88- so that? each time .the chassis-48 moves upwardly the carrier 42 has its fingers 66 vertically aligned with 'gaps' in the chassis rail corresponding to the xed upper track sections 56. The tank station at' which the carrier moves upwardly, to withdraw the workpieces romthe tank, is determined by the -location- 'of the depending legsf81 and the location of the notches 93-in some of the dogs 88.

The' lower pusher dogs 88 vare Varranged in pairs at the stations atwhich selection of carriers to be raised is desired. The iir'st dog 88is provided with a notch 93 and .the sec-ond dog 88 is of a solid construction.v Consequently, if the notch 93 inthe rst dog'88 is aligned with the leg 8.1 on the carrier 42, the leg 81 passes through the notch and is engaged by the second dog 88. The advance of the-carrier 42 is accomplished by the second `dog 8S and thisv advance is suiicient only to place the carrier on ythe lower rails vSit'eit'her at a position opposite spaces between chassis track sections 57 and 57a so that the carrier will not be raised with the chassis or at -a position in which it will be raised, as desired. lf the notch inthe rst dog 88 is located so that theldog engages the carrier, it is either advanced past the space between track sections 57 and 57a so that it is raised with the chassis or is positioned in line with the chassis track'spaces, as desired. The location of the legs 31cmv 4a carrier is `thus correlated initially with thev location and construction of the -do'gs 88 and the stroke ofthe pusher bars 82 to determine the cell at which work on that carrier will leave a tank.

When the chassis 4S vis in its up position, the carriers on the lchassis tracksections 57vand 57a and the upper track sect-ions S6 are indexed so-th'at-the carrier 42 at the extreme right hand end of unit l Ias viewed in FIG. 1 is moved onto the cantilever track sections 21S on crt 280 (FIG. l0). The chassis 48`then moves downwardly and during the time it is descending, the cart 200 is travel-ing' from a position in which the track sections l3218 are 'aligned with the upper-track on uniti to a position sprache in which they are aligned with the upper track on unit II. The chassis 154 on unit H is `being elevated at the same time that the chassis 48 is moving downwardly and the cart 26d is traveling from unit I to unit Il. Consequently, when the chassis ld has reached its upper position, the track members thereon are aligned with the track sections 218 on cart 26). As a result, when the pusher rods 17) are actuated to accomplish an indexing of the carriers on unit Il, the carrier 42 is moved off the tracks 218 onto the upper track members i513 for unit il.

The carrier 42 is advanced by pusher dogs through the single station tanks 23 to a position on t-he upper track members 158 preparatory to being advanced to a position above the rst station in a multi-station tank 30. The location ofthe abutment plates 76 determines whether or not work on the carrier will be immersed in the tank 30 and the height of the plates 76 on the carrier determines which station in the tank the work will enter. The station at which the work will be withdrawn from the tank is determined by vthe location of the legs Sl. In the event the plates 76 on the carrier are of a height such that they are engaged by subsequent pusher dogs above the tank from which the work on the carrier has just been withdrawn, it will be lowered again so that the work on the carrier will again be immersed in the tank. If re-immersion is not `desired the pusher dogs are located so that the abutment plates 76 on the carrier will not be engaged again while the carrier is over the tank. It can thus be seen that the workpieces carried by the carrier 42 may enter different tanks, stay in some tanks longer than others and have different drying times between different tanks, depending on the construction and location of the abutment plates 76, the location of the legs 81, the location and lengths of the dogs and the stroke of the pusher bars on which the dogs are mounted, all of which may be determined at the time the carrier 42 is positioned on the machine 10.

FIG. 12 illustrates diagrammatically the operation of the upper and lower pusher assemblies in both units I and Il to advance a work carrier through the machine 10. The arrow A indicates upward movement of the chassis 48. The arrow B indicates advance of the upper pushers in the up position of the chassis. The arrow C indicates descent of the chassis 48 and the arrow D indicates that only the lower pusher mechanism is actuated when the chassis is down All strokes are of course vadjustable -by adjusting the hydraulic cylinder assemblies.

In PEG. 13 the movement of carriers is illustrated diagrammatically with respect to a multi-station tank 22 having stations indicated by the numerals l, 2, 3, 4, and and chassis tracks, made up of sections 57 and 57a and having gaps corresponding to the upper track sections 56 iixed on the frame 44. The chassis tracks are shown in positions intermediate the upper and lower positions of the chassis. A pusher rod 94 having dogs SS is shown in solid lines in the position it occupies relative to the track sections 57 and 57a prior to movement in a direction to advance the work carriers and in dotted lines after it has been advanced. Assume that a work carrier 42 is lowered on the track sections 57 and 57a into a position supported on the lower tracks Sti at a location in which work on the carrier is immersed at the iirst station. This position of the work carrier is indicated diagrammatically at 42a. The pusher rods 94 are then actuated so that the dogs 33a engage the carrier 62a and move it to a position 42b, in which position it is in station number two in ver tical alignment with spaces between track sections S7 and 57a. The stroke of the rods 94 is indicated by the horizontal distance between the solid and dotted line positions of the dog SSH. Consequently, when the chassis is raised, the carrier remains on the lower tracks 50.

The pusher rods 9st are then retracted so that they will be in a position to again advance the carrier d2 when the chassis t8 is again lowered. On the next forward movement of the pusher rods 94 the dogs b engage the carrier and move it to the position indicated at 42C in station number three which is likewise in vertical alignment with the next pairs of gaps in the chassis tracks. Consequently, the carrier 42 is not lifted when the chassis is next raised. If withdrawal of the work on carrier l2 from the tank 22 at station three is desired, the legs 31 on the carrier are aligned with notches 93 in the dogs 8811 so that the legs 81 are engaged by the dogs 88C which are spaced ibehind the dogs 83h a distance such that the carrier is advanced only to a position shown at 42d above chassis track sections S7 and 57a. As a result, the opposite ends of the carrier are engaged by the track sections 57 and 57a when the chassis is next raised.

From the position indicated at 42e, the carrier is moved successively to positions 42e and 42) in stations four and tive by dogs ddd and 88e and is raised with the chassis 43 at station tive.

The travel or" a carrier 42A which is lowered onto the iower tracks at a position above station two and is lifted oit the lower tracks at a position above station ve is illustrated by designating successive positions of the carrier with successive letter suthxes B, C, D, etc.

Coordination of the sequentially phased movement of the several transfer mechanisms, chassis, shuttles, etc. is suitably accomplished by a series of limit switches connected to the central control system ot the machines.

From the above description, it is seen that this invention provides a versatile work handling machine 10 which is operable to perform a large variety of work handling sequences. rlfhe flexibility of the machine 10 for different work iandling operations is obtained by changing the location of the station selector mechanisms on the machine frame and the selector structure on the carriers 42. Furthermore, each sequence for any carrier is determined by the structure of that carrier at the time it is introduced into the machine 10. Consequently, complete control can be exercised over any part to be handled merely by selecting the carrier on which that part will travel through the machine 10. The pusher assemblies for advancing and retracting the lower pusher dogs 80, which must be moved upwardly to be in positions engageable with carriers on the lower tracks Sti on forward movement of the pusher rods and must be moved downwardly in order to pass below the carriers on the tracks 5t) on a return movement of the pusher rods, are constructed so that the required up and down movement of the dogs at the desired times is insured.

It will be understood that the specific construction of improved work handling apparatus which is herein disclosed and described is presented for purposes of explanation and illustration only and is not intended to indicate limits of the invention, the scope of which is deiined by the following claims.

Jhat is claimed is:

l. Work handling apparatus for moving work into and out of treatment tanks arranged in side by side rows, said apparatus comprising a pair of longitudinally extending conveyor mechanisms arranged in a side by side relation, each of said mechanisms including a vertically movable chassis mounted for movement between a lower position in which work thereon is immersed in a treat- :ment tank and an upper position in which the work is above the tanks, means for moving said two chassis so that when each chassis is in its lower position the other chassis is in its upper position and so that said two chassis move concurrently between said positions, a pair of shuttle units extending between corresponding ends of said mechanisms, each of said shuttle units including a carriage for conveying work from one end of one conveyor mechanism to the corresponding end of the other conveyor mechanism, each of said carriages being mounted for horizontal movement at a level corresponding substantially to the upper positions of said chassis, and means for coordinating the travel of said carriages so v13 that they are at opposite ends of each chassis in the upper position thereof.

2. Work handling apparatus for moving work into and out of treatment tanks arranged in side by side rows, said apparatus comprising a pair of longitudinally ex tending conveyor mechanisms arranged in a side by side relation, each of said mechanisms including a vertically movable chassis mounted for movement between a lower position in which work thereon is immersed in a treatment tank and an upper position in which the work is above the tanks, means for moving said two chassis so that when one chassis is in its lower position the other is in its upper position and vice Versa and so that said two chassis move concurrently between said positions, means for moving work carriers horizontally along each chassis in both positions thereof, a pair of shuttle units extending between corresponding ends of said mechanisms, each of said shuttle units including a carriage for conveying work carriers from one end of one conveyor mechanism to the corresponding end of the other conveyor mechanism, each of said carriages being mounted for horizontal move. ment at a level corresponding substantially to the upper positions of said chassis, and means for coordinating the travel of said carriages so that they are at opposite ends of each chassis in the upper position thereof.

References Cited in the iile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,601,528 Hall Sept. 28, 1926 2,102,308 Daw Dec. 14, 1937 2,958,331 Borodin Nov. 1, 1960 

1. WORK HANDLING APPARATUS FOR MOVING WORK INTO AND OUT OF TREATMENT TANKS ARRANGED IN SIDE BY SIDE ROWS, SAID APPARATUS COMPRISING A PAIR OF LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING CONVEYOR MECHANISMS ARRANGED IN A SIDE BY SIDE RELATION, EACH OF SAID MECHANISMS INCLUDING A VERTICALLY MOVABLE CHASSIS MOUNTED FOR MOVEMENT BETWEEN A LOWER POSITION IN WHICH WORK THEREON IS IMMERSED IN A TREATMENT TANK AND AN UPPER POSITION IN WHICH THE WORK IS ABOVE THE TANKS, MEANS FOR MOVING SAID TWO CHASSIS SO THAT WHEN EACH CHASSIS IS IN ITS LOWER POSITION THE OTHER CHASSIS IS IN ITS UPPER POSITION AND SO THAT SAID TWO CHASSIS MOVE CONCURRENTLY BETWEEN SAID POSITIONS, A PAIR OF SHUTTLE UNITS EXTENDING BETWEEN CORRESPONDING ENDS OF SAID MECHANISMS, EACH OF SAID SHUTTLE UNITS INCLUDING A CARRIAGE FOR CONVEYING WORK FROM ONE END OF ONE CONVEYOR MECHANISM TO THE CORRESPONDING END OF THE OTHER CONVEYOR MECHANISM, EACH OF SAID CARRIAGES BEING MOUNTED FOR HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT AT A LEVEL CORRESPONDING SUBSTANTIALLY TO THE UPPER POSITIONS OF SAID CHASSIS, AND MEANS FOR COORDINATING THE TRAVEL OF SAID CARRIAGES SO THAT THEY ARE AT OPPOSITE ENDS OF EACH CHASSIS IN THE UPPER POSITION THEREOF. 